Last week when I stopped by the grocery store, I smiled as soon as I walked through the sliding glass doors. The supermarket strategically placed their bakery right at the very front, tempting customers with treats from the moment they entered.

Of course, the store tucked away the not-so-sweet baked goods like bread, rolls, and bagels in the far corner… They knew those were far less tempting!

Last week, the bakery had added an extra long folding table display for Valentine’s Day, which looked as if it might collapse under the weight of all the products piled on top! It held packages of pre-baked sugar cookies and boxed cake mix, alongside huge tubs of sprinkles and containers of store-made buttercream frosting dyed in every color of the rainbow.

The bakery knew many people wanted to frost sugar cookies and bake cakes for their loved ones for Valentine’s Day… But those people usually lacked the time to do it all from scratch, so the bakery’s display solved that problem. Buy all of the pre-made components and just decorate at home!

As a kid, I would’ve begged my mom to let us do that… I loved store-bought frosting and treats back then! But as an adult, I’ve started to gravitate away from those overly sweet and decorated desserts towards simpler (and healthier!) options…

Like this Healthy Vanilla Bean Pound Cake! It’s so full of rich vanilla flavor that no frosting is necessary (and even the drizzle is optional!). This healthy pound cake is also really easy to make. You just need two bowls, a whisk, and a fork—no mixer!

But I saved the best for last… This healthy pound cake contains no refined flour or sugar, and it’s just 125 calories! That’s basically the definition of cake heaven in my book!

Traditional pound cakes earned their name because they contained a pound of each of the following ingredients: all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. They were really moist and dense… And had way more calories per slice than I want to think about!

You’ll skip the pound of butter (about 2 cups!) and eggs (about 9 of them!). Instead, you’ll use a mere 1 tablespoon of butter and 3 egg whites. Whew! My waistline is doing a happy dance just thinking about how many calories we shaved off!

Therefore, the majority of this healthy pound cake’s tender texture comes from Greek yogurt. Although… You may have guessed that already! I love baking with Greek yogurt because it adds the same moisture to your cake batter as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your healthy pound cake a big protein boost, too!

Rather than granulated sugar, you’ll sweeten your healthy vanilla cake with another one of my favorite ingredients: vanilla stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that contains nothing refined or artificial (aka it’s clean-eating friendly!). It’s also highly concentrated, so you just need 1 tablespoon to sweeten your entire cake!

This is the kind of vanilla stevia that I buy because I love its warm flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertaste, like with some other stevia products. Although you can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, I buy mine online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)

Of course, the true star of the show is the vanilla bean! Because it’s really hard to find good vanilla beans near where I live (especially ones that don’t cost an arm and a leg!), I use this vanilla bean paste instead. I buy it online here! It adds the same richness as regular vanilla beans—and just look at all of those pretty black speckles! They make me so happy. ?

If you want to make your healthy vanilla bean pound cake look a little fancier, then add a little drizzle on top once it has completely cooled! I made mine with this healthy “powered sugar” as the base, then mixed it with milk and a little more vanilla bean paste. For easy drizzling, put it in a small bag, cut off a tiny piece of one corner, and drizzle away!

A slice for dessert… A slice before bed… A slice as a mid-afternoon snack… This healthy pound cake basically disappeared in the blink of an eye at my house! It truly is the BEST! ??? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your pound cake!

This is one of my all-time favorite pound cakes! It’s supremely tender and full of rich vanilla flavor. The drizzle may be optional, but it adds a pretty finishing touch! The pound cake will keep for at least five days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat a 9x5” loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, vanilla bean paste, and vanilla stevia. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in ¼ cup of milk. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and remaining milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.)

Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 45-55 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully transferring the pound cake to a wire rack to cool completely.

To prepare the drizzle, just before serving, stir together the erythritol, milk, and vanilla bean paste in a small bowl. Transfer the glaze to a small bag, cut off a tiny piece of one corner, and drizzle on top of the cooled cake.

Whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the white whole wheat flour. Regular whole wheat flour may be substituted in a pinch, although the cake will be less tender and have a distinct wheat-y flavor.

The cake requires 3 full egg whites. The whites contain the majority of the protein in eggs, and that protein is required to ensure the cake maintains its shape and texture while cooling. Without all 3 egg whites, the cake will collapse while cooling and turn out much denser.

This is the vanilla bean paste that I used! It’s much more affordable than buying regular vanilla beans, and it’s completely shelf-stable. Each teaspoon is the equivalent of one full vanilla bean! I bought it online here. For a stronger vanilla flavor, increase the vanilla bean paste by another 1 teaspoon.

You may substitute regular vanilla extract, but the vanilla flavor won’t be quite as prominent.

I do not recommend substituting for the vanilla stevia, if at all possible. (It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!) I buy mine online here because that's the cheapest price I've found. However, if you really prefer to omit the vanilla stevia from the cake, substitute 1 ¼ cups (240g) granulated sugar and reduce the milk to ½ cup + 2 tablespoons, but the cake will no longer be clean-eating friendly. You may substitute 1 ¼ cups (240g) coconut sugar and reduce the milk to ½ cup + 2 tablespoons to keep the cake clean eating friendly, but it will be much darker in color. The baking time may vary with either of those substitutions as well.

Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.

Do not use an electric mixer to mix up the batter. This will result in a dense or tough cake. Use a whisk where instructed, and use a fork for everything else.

In the drizzle, this is the confectioners’ style erythritol that I used. In a pinch, regular confectioners’ (powdered) sugar may be substituted for the confectioners’ style erythritol. However, regular powdered sugar is more absorbent, so start with ½ teaspoon of milk and add more as necessary to achieve the desired consistency.

I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Elena! When I looked at that link, it actually brought up 38 different products. Did you click on the link to the vanilla stevia that I use? (My links are in pink!) If you click on the link to the vanilla stevia that I use, it’s actually the same as the first result on the page of products that you linked to. 😉 So if you purchase that product, you’ll be just fine! I can’t wait to hear what you think of this pound cake if you try it!

Oh my bad, https://www.amazon.co.uk/SweetLeaf-Sweetdrops-Vanilla-Flavour-Sweetener/dp/B07KXS4W6Z?ref_=bl_dp_s_web_1869593031 Hope this link is ok. It’s the Vanilla Sweetner in the blue bottle. As i said i can`t find the vanilla stevia you used and added in the link, as i`m from Romania, but i did find the blue bottle sweetner from SweetLeaf and was wondering if i could use that as a replacement and have the same result. I already tried out some of your recipes (that didn`t require stevia), but as you realize my options are limited, and i would really love to try out more! I don`t wanna replace it with sugar cuz i`m watching my calories and macros and this is the first site where i have all that info and i can eat sweets guilt freee and still have results:D Also, i love that your recipes are soooo good, unlike some others that i tried before i found your site so, i just wanna make sure that i would get a good result without that creme stevia sweetner, cuz i can`t quite get in the possession of that 🙁 Keep up the good job and thank you so much!

No worries Elena! Thanks so much for this link — that’s really helpful! This stevia company has a handy conversion chart on their website here. Based on that, you’ll need 72mL of the vanilla drops, which is almost 5 tablespoons. If you decide to use 5 tablespoons of the vanilla drops to replace the vanilla stevia that I used, then reduce the milk by 4 tablespoons (so just 1 cup!) to compensate for the added liquid. 🙂 I’m so excited to hear what you think of this pound cake!

Hi Amy. Thanks so much for this recipe. Is it possible to substitute the flour for 1/2 regular all purpose and 1/2 whole wheat flour? Also, can I decide to use 3 eggs instead of just the egg whites? Thanks so much.

I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Lisa! You can definitely substitute half all-purpose flour and half regular whole wheat flour for the white whole wheat flour. You can also use 3 whole eggs. The baking time may increase slightly due to the extra volume from the egg yolks, but the flavor and texture will remain the same! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this pound cake!

Very disappointed with this cake. I followed the ingredients and the instructions exactly. The pound cake turned out looking perfect. But there was no taste at all. I put in the extra vanilla bean paste but you would not taste any vanilla flavor. It also was not tender.
Sorry but this cake turned out just other cakes that use stevia in place of sugar.

I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Paul! That sounds very disappointing and not like how this cake should turn out, so I’d love to work with you to figure out what happened. 🙂 To start, did you use the same exact stevia that I did? Also, how did you measure the flour, with a kitchen scale or measuring cups? If the latter, can you describe in detail how you used them? Did you use an electric or stand mixer to make the cake batter? Finally, did you make any modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section? Once I know all of that information (I know I asked a lot of questions!), then I’ll have a much better idea of what happened and how to prevent that from happening again in the future, whether you decide to try this recipe again or a different cake recipe that calls for stevia!

I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Tami! I’ve actually covered the best alternative sweetener options in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions). I know it can be easy to miss! 😉 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this pound cake!

Looking for something specific?

The Latest

The Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook is perfect for any and all chocolate lovers. Whether you enjoy chocolate occasionally or every single day (that’d be me!), there are plenty of goodies inside for you!
Healthier Chocolate Treats contains 50+ brand new healthier recipes. These recipes have never been seen before or appeared on my blog. You won’t find them anywhere else!
And yes—every single one contains some form of chocolate. Whether you prefer milk, dark or white, there are lots of treats inside for you!
What Inspired You to Write Healthier Chocolate Treats?
I have always loved chocolate. Every Halloween throughout my childhood, I inverted the entire contents of my bright … Read More

Welcome! It appears that this is one of your first visits, so I hope you find some foods you like. I’d suggest starting with the Desserts Category (my favorite meal of the day!) or using the search bar for something specific. If you like what you see, enter your email address to have all future recipes delivered to you—for free!